Jasper County Democrat, Volume 15, Number 69, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 November 1912 — SOUTH DAKOTA LETTER. [ARTICLE]

SOUTH DAKOTA LETTER.

Henry Hayes Writes Interestingly From Acme, So. Dak. In renewing his subscription for The Democrat, H. H. Hayes, formerly. of Barkley tp., writes from Acme, So. Dak., where with his family he has been living for the past few years, and among other things says: Henry enclosed with his letter" a post card giving a birdseye view of the Homestake mine and mills, at Lead, So. Dak., and says 3,200 men are employed in this gold mine and mills. “It is a great sight to see; have been there twice and was all through the mills but not down In the mines, which are 2,200 feet deep,” he adds. We are seeing better times now; had plenty of rain, this year, but the stason has been a cool one and the corn did not mature well. One of our neighbors who came from his homestead in Gregory county, where we used to live, said that the corn there was greener than it was here. 1 worked out most of the season and miy bdys tended to the crops. I planted corn for the greater as the seed was cheapest. Have just begun husking; will have between 700 anji 1,000 bushels, not a large crop for 58 acres, but it was poorly put in as I was short of horses. But corn is high here, has never been less than 1 cent per pound in the car, or from $1.30 to $2.25 per 100 pounds shelled. Everything sells by the hundred here. We had three acres of beans ,and raised 14 *4 bushels; have sold some at four cents per pound. Here flour is now $1.25 per sack, hut has been $1.75 this summer, as wheat was scarce last year in this part of the country; was lots raised in the irrigated district this year and some raised in our part, but have had no threshing rig yet. We have had as nice a fall as I ever saw, hut, one rain iro the last six weeks. But they have had snow at Faith, about sixty miles northeast of here and also in the Black Hills, about fifty miles'to the southwest. But it snows there in September nearly every year and as late as May. Part of Lead City is a mile -above the sea, and a part higher and a part lower, but the hills to the south are much higher than those in Lead. I was well pleased with the election returns. Although this id a strong republican state 14. would not have gone to “Roosy” if people could have voted as they wished. In the primary the Roosevelt delegates were elected, so to make things even they placed them on the republican ticket' and cut Taft out altogether; had no progressive ticket at all. Well, some said this was not legal, but they were pledged to Roosy. They have had the split in the republican party here for a few years and do their fighting at the primaries, but all line up for the nominee at election time. This is a strong republican county, but we elected the county treasurer, registrar of deeds and state representative,

and our precinct went democratic all through. With best regards for all our old friends in Jasper, H. H. HAYES.